Aisha Dow, City Reporter for The Age You might describe it as Melbourne City Council’s version of jury duty, except it is far easier to get out of. A panel of 43 “everyday” Melburnians will advise council on how it should spend its money for the next 10 years, when the randomly selected group is...Continue reading
Kathy Jones. The politics of engagement
Kathy Jones, speaking as a board member of newDemocracy, discussed this challenge in a speech to the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2). Overcoming this distrust of politicians and planning requires finding innovative ways to communicate not only with those residents who are already “engaged and enraged”, but also with community members who are hard-to-reach....Continue reading
How politicians can sell unpopular reforms
From one of our founding board members. Ian Marsh. Australian Financial Review, 28 May 2014. Tony Abbott’s fall from grace has been precipitous. But it is not unprecedented. Its causes are much more fundamental than poor political judgment. How so? Take the precedents. The Resource Super Profits Tax was released in May 2010, and was followed...Continue reading
Reclaim November Ohio
A democratic reform group, Jefferson Action, used a citizens jury to interrogate the policy platforms of the Democratic and Republican candidates for Congress. Interestingly, this was supported and made possible through the active participation of both candidates. The citizens detailed and informed views of the candidates built over tens of hours (rather than the more...Continue reading
God Does Not Play Dice, But People Should: Random Selection in Politics, Science and Society
Authors: Bruno S. Frey, CREMA & Lasse Steiner, University of Zurich March 1, 2014 – University of Zurich, Department of Economics, Working Paper No. 144 Abstract:This paper discusses and proposes random selection as a component in decision-making in society. Random procedures have played a significant role in history, especially in classical Greece and the medieval...
Time for citizens to decide how to stop election campaign rorting
Jonathan O’Dea | Sydney Morning Herald | 30 April 2014 Following more explosive revelations from the Independent Commission Against Corruption on Monday, Premier Mike Baird has identified political lobbying and election campaign funding as major issues for our state government. He has indicated support for tighter regulation of lobbyists and public funding of election campaigns....
Decision accuracy in complex environments is often maximized by small group sizes
Authors: Albert B. Kao and Iain D. Couzin, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University Abstract Individuals in groups, whether composed of humans or other animal species, often make important decisions collectively, including avoiding predators, selecting a direction in which to migrate and electing political leaders. Theoretical and empirical work suggests that collective decisions...Continue reading
Penn State Democracy Institute
Each year, starting in 2014, the Penn State Democracy Institute gives a medal and $5,000 award for exceptional innovations that advance the design and practice of democracy. The medal celebrates and helps to publicize the best work being done to advance democracy in the United States or around the globe. The Institute gives medals in...
SMH | Opinion | Luca Belgiorno-Nettis
Forget democracy, we need a new way to govern Sydney Morning Herald, April 22, 2014 Ten years ago, in 2004, I decided to jump off the merry-go-round of political party fund-raisers. I found both the rubber chicken and the political offering equally unappetising. My Liberal and Labor party hosts, on the other hand, seemed perfectly...
Daily Telegraph News Local: Citizens’ Jury appointed by Sydney council comes up with 25 recommendations for a safer city
By JAMES GORMAN A GREATER variety of entertainment options for different age groups is one of the key recommendations made by a citizens’ jury looking into Sydney’s troubled night-life. In September last year, the City of Sydney formed the jury, made up of 43 randomly selected citizens from across the city. The jurors met five...Continue reading